I was a rather tardy entrant into the world of intelligent cellular technology. By the time I got my first smartphone, many of my friends had already disposed of a few of their own. As a matter of fact, I can only think of one friend who still did not have a smartphone when I purchased my almighty iPhone 4(no S), and I'm about 97% sure that she is now a hippie and that the immediate predecessor to her phone (which she still uses) belonged to Zach Morris.
One of the pillars upon which I propped up my opposition to smartphones (besides my penultimate decision-making factor in life, convenience) was phone addiction. Already having a penchant for people and communication, I did not want to risk undue attachment to my cellphone (people). I did not want to become a person whose palm slowly morphed into an amoled touch screen.
Of course, once I actually did have my own iPhone, I soon realized that in order to become the aforementioned cyborg, I needed at least some semblance of popularity (which I freely admit I did/do/will not have). Regardless, I found myself becoming slowly addicted. However, my drug was not, as I had previously feared, people; it was information. More specifically, I was addicted to updates. The simultaneous buzz of minute novelties and the reprieve from the weight and responsibility of my own thoughts tickled my blood stream with endorphins.
Through this addiction, I've come to realize that the media is an all-inclusive crutch for the brain. I don't mean media in the traditional sense: newspapers, television, magazines. Rather, I mean it as any ways through which information is passed from one party to another. Now, when faced with a problem, one just needs to google "how to tie a tie," "what is my ip," to figure out meticulously detailed, well thought out instructions to questions.
This accessibility is certainly helpful when in a bind, but when it is time to form opinions, it provides a lazy way out for people. There are now people who can eloquently sum up the opinions of the great minds of today, but cannot or are afraid to form their own. Informed opinion is dropping its inefficient, antiquated caboose and becoming, simply, informed.
And then there I am, lying lazily in the midst of all this, in bed, oblivious to the happenings of the world outside my social media networks.
"There are now people who can eloquently sum up the opinions of the great minds of today, but cannot or are afraid to form their own."
ReplyDeletetruth. i was at a bible study last night, and we were reading psalm 42. i said something about verse 4, how the pouring out of the soul and remembering better times brought out the humanity of the psalmist. just regular observation.
then this girl made a connection between verse 6 and 9. verse 6 is about how the psalmist remembers God in various places, while in verse 9, he asks God why He has forgotten him. and she was saying how that emphasized the psalmist's anguish. that we feel betrayed when we remember but are forgotten.
i couldn't help but smile when she was explaining, because i didn't see that connection at all. and i think that's what sets people apart. the great thinkers are able to make sense of words or numbers or happenings.
people who can rattle of facts or the opinions of those great minds still sound so damn smart. but it's one thing to be able to remember facts and another to suggest concrete improvements based on those facts.